2023 Château Taillefer Pomerol

Vintage 2023

Château Taillefer 2023 offers a rich and complex taste experience with notes of blackberries and dark plums, subtle hints of violets, ground spices and chocolate. The wine is full and dense, with a deep and generous dark-fruity character and compact, velvety tannins. The finish is long and polished, which contributes to the harmonious balance of the wine.

The harvest

Spring started with a period of frost on April 5, which, thanks to constant vigilance, did not affect the vineyard of Château Taillefer. This was followed by warm, dry weather, which was favorable for an early harvest. The summer was quite wet, with several stormy periods that were favorable for the development of the grapes. However, good plant health management and the efforts of the teams allowed the quality of the harvest to be maintained. September was exceptionally warm and sunny, with a late heatwave and average temperatures 4 degrees above seasonal normal.

The harvest period took place from September 13 to 20, 2023. From September 13, a generous harvest began, the longest in the history of Château Taillefer, with 17 days of picking spread over 4 weeks. The very good health of the grapes allowed us to take breaks on rainy or hot days. Our emblematic grape varieties have reached excellent ripeness and are at their best. The blend for the 2023 vintage consists of 93% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc, resulting in a yield of 33 hectoliters per hectare and a production of 50,000 bottles.

Terroir and Vineyard of Château Taillefer

Château Taillefer is located on the Pomerol plateau, at an altitude of 25 meters. The soil consists of silica and gravel on a clay base, rich in iron deposits. The vineyard covers 12 hectares, with a grape variety distribution of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. The density of vine plantings is 6,060 vines per hectare and the average age of the vines is 36 years. The vineyard methods promote plowing and grass cover, mixed Guyot pruning and manual cultivation of the vines depending on each plot.

Vinification and Maturation

The harvest is carried out mechanically with different grading based on ripeness and size of the berries and plot selection. The vinification is traditional with gentle maceration in temperature-controlled concrete barrels. The wine matures for 12 months in French oak barrels, 40% of which are new.

History of the Moueix family

The story of the Moueix family begins at the end of the 19th century in Corrèze. Antoine Moueix left his native region to sell Bordeaux wines door to door in Northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1923, Antoine acquired Château Taillefer, attracted by the history and terroir of the domain. It is an ancient cru that appeared on the map of Belleyme as early as 1761 and is one of Pomerol's largest properties, with 12 hectares of vineyards on the southern slope of the Pomerol plateau. Five generations have taken over, and today Château Taillefer is managed by Claire Moueix and her husband Cyril Basteau.

Reviews

• Jane Anson: 92 points
• Markus del Monego: 92 points
• Falstaff Magazine: 91 points
• The Wine Independent (L. Perrotti-Brown): 90-92 points